Nowy Wiśnicz Castle – a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located on a forested hill by the River Leksandrówka in the village of Stary Wiśnicz,

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

; in Poland. The castle was raised by Jan Kmita in the second half of the fourteenth century. The castle was built in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architectural style with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

elements. The castle was built on the plan of the quadrilateral with the inner

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

. The castle has four towers, with one in each corner. The castle is surrounded by

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

fortifications and the main gate from the early 17th century.

History

The castle has an irregular shape. In the 1590s and 1610s, it had a four-wing structure, three towers and fortifications surrounding the castle with two gates. After the year 1516, Piotr Kmita expanded the castle. After his death in 1553, the castle came into ownership of the Barzów in 1566, which ceded ownership rights of the castle to the Stadnickis. In 1593

Sebastian Lubomirski Count Sebastian Lubomirski ( 1546 – 20 July 1613) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic). He was owner of Wiśnicz and Siercza. He was Żupnik of Kraków in 1581–1592, burgrave of Kraków since 1584 ...

bought the castle. In between the years of 1615 to 1621, Sebastian's son, Stanisław Lubomirski, undertook the expansion of the castle. The architect Maciej Trapola drew up the project of the

reconstruction and

fortifications. During the

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...

the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

looted and destroyed the castle. After Sweden was defeated by the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, the castle was restored to the

Lubomirski The House of Lubomirski is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross. Origin and the coat ...

family, which carried out restoration works which have not been completed. After the first half of the eighteenth century, the castle became the property of the

Sanguszko The House of Sanguszko is a Polish and Lithuanian noble and aristocratic family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin, connected to the Gediminid dynasty. Like other princely houses of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, its origins are considered m ...

Potocki The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...

, and

Zamoyski The House of Zamoyski (plural: Zamoyscy) is an important Poland, Polish noble (''szlachta'') family Magnates of Poland and Lithuania, belonging to the category of Polish magnates. They used the Jelita coat of arms. The surname "Zamoyski" litera ...

noble families, but after the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

, the castle started falling into decline, and in 1831 the castle was destroyed by a fire and left abandoned. In the year of 1901, the castle was bought by Professor Maurycy Straszewski of the Lubomirski Ancestral Federation (''Zjednoczenie Rodowe Lubomirskich'') which had commenced the renovation the castle. From 1928, Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz supervised renovation, however further renovation was stopped due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After

, the castle was seized by the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, and from the year of 1949, renovation was conducted by Alfred Majewski, which was to restore the castle to its former structure. The history of the castle is enlivened by many legends (the legend of the

Queen Bona Bona Sforza (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of the powerful House ...

, the legend of the "flyers", the legend of the stone "mushroom"). Many well-known artists (

Marcin Bielski Marcin Bielski (or ''Wolski''; 1495 – 18 December 1575) was a Polish soldier, historian, chronicler, renaissance satirical poet, writer and translator. His son, , royal secretary to king Sigismund III Vasa, was also a historian and poet. He was ...

, Klemens Janicki,

Juliusz Kossak Juliusz Fortunat Kossak (15 December 1824 – 3 February 1899) was a Polish historical painter and master illustrator who specialized in battle scenes, military portraits and horses. He was the progenitor of an artistic family that spanned fou ...

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

Stanisław Orzechowski Stanisław Orzechowski, also known among others as Stanisław Orżechowski Roxolan, Stanislaus Orichovius Polonus, Stanislaus Orichovius Ruthenus,

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...

) visited the castle in centuries past.

Legend

The Flyers' Legend (Polish: ''legenda o lotnikach'') is the most well-known legend associated with the castle. It is connected with the construction of the castle during which a number of Turkish or

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

captives from the Battle of Chocim participated. The legend has it that they attempted to escape from captivity by jumping from the castle hill using self-constructed wings. However, their efforts failed and they fell down not far from the castle. The places of their falls where marked by columns, which have been preserved until today. The first column from 1646 is located nearby the Nowy Wiśnicz High School, the second one dating from 1654 stands in the village of Kopaliny, the third one was erected in 1747 in Łomna while the fourth one from 1762 is in

Bochnia Bochnia is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland, administrative seat of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted ...

Gallery

File:Nowy Wisnicz (1449571484).jpg, General view File:Zamek Nowy Wiśnicz z powietrza 1.jpg, Aerial view File:Nowy Wisnicz Castle 16.jpg, Castle tower File:Nowy Wiśnicz - panoramio.jpg, The castle and outbuildings File:4 Nowy Wiśnicz zamek w wiśniczu 2018.jpg, Inner courtyard File:0 Nowy Wisnicz 20.jpg, Castle chapel File:7 Nowy Wiśnicz zamek w wiśniczu 2018.jpg, Interior File:Zamek w Wiśniczu 12.jpg, Gate to the castle

History

Legend

Gallery

See also